Plasma reactors could create oxygen on Mars - Science

A microwave-size device attached to the agency’s Perseverance rover converted carbon dioxide into 10 minutes of breathable oxygen.

Now, physicists say they’ve come up with a way to use electron beams in a plasma reactor to create far more oxygen, potentially in a smaller package.

By pumping a current between two oppositely charged electrodes in an electrochemical cell, MOXIE can split the carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen ions.

A beam of electrons, accelerated to a specific energy level, can split carbon dioxide into its component ions, or plasma, just like MOXIE.

To work on Mars, the plasma device would need a portable power source and a place to store the oxygen it makes, all of which could make it just as—if not more—bulky than MOXIE, he says.